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With a name like Cullen, I am embarrassed to say that — until recently — I had never visited Ireland.

As a fifth generation Torontonian with roots that stretch back to the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, you might think that I would have made the effort long ago. Now I wish that I had.

Tourism Ireland invited me as a guest and earlier this month provided me the opportunity to visit some of the country’s great gardens. It was both eye-opening and confirmed many notions I had of the Emerald Isle.

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To say that Ireland is green is an understatement. But then, as my travelling companion and fellow gardener Denis Flanagan, says, this is a country that is full of understatements.

From the moment we arrived in Dublin on a rainy Monday, the people apologized for the wet weather every step of the way, as if they had some control over it.

When we arrived to tour a garden, the head gardener inevitably apologized for the state of the grounds. “A month ago things looked so much better,” said Sean Connolly, of Mount Usher Tree Trail in County Wicklow. The predominant sentiment sounded very Canadian. We spent much of the week apologizing to each other.

Helen Dillon: Some people have suggested that Helen Dillon is the Mark Cullen of Irish gardening. If there is even a morsel of truth to that statement, it is a very generous compliment to me. Helen is the preeminent garden designer, writer and broadcaster in the country. She lives a few minutes from the heart of Dublin, on an old street featuring historic, three-storey stone homes. Her front yard is dominated by a grove of carefully placed mature white birch trees that create a cathedral-like environment. It has the effect of silencing any conversation or noise as you approach the door, with an expectation that something big is on the other side.

Once indoors, we were led directly to the back of the home where large, floor-to-ceiling windows reveal an extraordinary garden of great proportion.

Its design is a colourful combination around an Italian theme featuring garden statues, a monstrous arbour and long series of water ponds and waterfalls set in a perfectly rectangular stone design. The water features are framed by a blowsy, intense combination of dahlias, flowering perennials and shrubs much like an English country flower border.

Helen’s impressive garden is matched by her equally powerful and enthusiastic personality. She speaks with such passion about Irish gardens that she barely takes a breath — I didn’t want to interrupt her out of fear that I might miss something important. Like the answer to my burning question about what Irish gardeners can teach Canadians (more on that later).

Helen opens her garden to the public from March through September and prefers visits to be booked ahead of time. Details at dillongarden.com

Mount Usher Gardens: The sign at the road says it all: “Mount Usher, voted best garden to visit in Ireland. BBC Gardeners World.” Here we found more than a dozen “champion” trees — earmarked for their size and cultural significance in a country where cultivating trees is an obsession. Each of these trees is the biggest and most significant of its kind in Ireland. For each tree species there is only one tree in Ireland that can attain the “champion” designation.

The 22-acre garden features an azalea walk, 30-foot rhododendrons, 2,200 mature trees and shrubs, an extensive rock garden and a typical English country perennial border which, as Sean says, “Tourists have come to expect in a show garden.” I recommend Mount Usher to anyone who enjoys Irish history (the garden was established over 150 years ago), a quiet country setting (just a few blocks from a busy urban area), and shopping. They have created a street of shops that line the walk on your way into the garden from the parking lot. Plus you will find the obligatory café that all self-respecting public gardens in this country maintain. For details go to mountushergardens.ie.

Powerscourt Gardens: This is the granddaddy of Irish estate gardens and stretches back to colonial times when the British owned the majority of the great properties. Look for the walled garden, elaborate fountains, Japanese gardens, Triton Lake (man-made), sweeping manicured lawns and magnificent ancient trees. Not to mention a pet cemetery — one of the largest in Ireland. Details at powerscourt.ie

Bantry House and Garden: A surprisingly rare site on the shores of Bantry Bay, this 200-year-old garden and stately home offers a formal knot garden and the opportunity to climb the 100 stairs of the “Old Ladies Walk.” The view is stunning — sitting on the top step, catching our breath, we imagined what it must have been like to create the historic gardens at Bantry. More than 10 generations of gardeners have worked in the gardens.

Today the preservation of many valuable pieces of historic garden art creates a multidimensional experience for the traveller. Details at bantryhouse.com

As for the eternal question I like to ask while exploring gardens abroad, “What can Canadian gardeners learn from the Irish?” I will summarize the answer based on the many experienced Irish gardeners I met.

Honour the past — preserve and maintain the symbols and artifacts that have helped to shape our culture over the years and display those reminders in places of honour and prevalence.

Be generous, courageous and modest in your use of plants as permanent celebrations of life.

On more than one occasion while visiting Ireland we took their advice and raised a glass in celebration of a centuries-old gardening pedigree.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Can I throw my pumpkins in the garden after Halloween? I don’t have a composter.

When you’re through with your orange-faced wonder, DO NOT throw it out. Place in on the surface of the soil in your garden where the frost will take care of it and “melt” it into the earth over a few weeks as winter approaches. Alternatively, just cut it up with a sharp shovel and put the pieces in the garden.

Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author, broadcaster and garden editor of Reno and Decor magazine. You can sign up for his free monthly newsletter at markcullen.com, and watch him on CTV Canada AM every Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. You can reach Mark through the “contact” button on his website and follow him on Twitter @MarkCullen4 and Facebook. Mark’s latest book, Canadian Lawn & Garden Secrets, is available at Home Hardware and all major bookstores.

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